The Center for Puppetry Arts is expanding its programming with “Puppetry NOW,” a new series focusing on contemporary artists of color. The program launches on June 17 with master puppeteer Tarish Pipkins, known as “Jeghetto.” His “5P1N0K10: A Hip-Hopera Performance” (pronounced “spinokio”) will be on view at the center’s Dean Dubose Smith Special Exhibition Gallery, and there will be a special performance of the large-scale puppets June 23-26. Pipkins joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to talk about his adventures in puppetry and how “51PN0K10” came to be.
Interview highlights:
On discovering puppetry and a puppeteer persona:
“I was a visual artist; I consider myself self-taught. You know, I had mentors over the years, but I never had official training. I did paintings, murals and I started dabbling with sculptures, like wire sculptures. And a voice in my head one day just said, ‘Make a puppet,’ and I did,” said Pipkins.
“I was actually watching the last rendition of ‘Pinocchio’ through Disney; I think that’s the version where they had CGI. So, my 19-year-old son, he was about five at the time … I’m reading the back case of the DVD, and I’m reading the history of Pinocchio, and I’m like, ‘Well, I have to come up with a cool name for myself.’ I’m like ‘Jepetto…’ I was like, ‘That kind of rhymes with ghetto, you know, where I’m from, from the inner city.’ And I was like, ‘Jepetto, ghetto, Jeghetto. Wow, that rhymes.’”
“5P1N0K10” and other interactive opportunities:
“[‘5P1N0K10’] entails three questions. ‘What is humanity?’ ‘What is reality?’ And I play on the whole theory of ‘multiverse’ and inter-dimensions. So it’s a science fiction story of Pinocchio, told through robots,” teased Pipkins.
“There will be three interactive puppet sculptures. I started this thing where I do installations where the public can come and actually manipulate the sculptures and make them move, so I’m building larger versions of robots and creatures that are in the production for the public to come and see and manipulate for themselves. So it’s gonna be pretty awesome,” Pipkins said. “I have a producer named Hero, out of Detroit, who did a soundtrack for my short film out as well, and he does the music for the show. So it’s going to be an experience that I think everyone really needs to go see if you’re in the area.”
Jeghetto’s mission of “promoting oneness through puppetry:”
“I’m thinking it’s just like any other art form. I mean, anyone on the planet can listen to music, feel the same thing; look at a painting and feel the same,” said Pipkins. “I just want to share a story, and for everyone to come and look at that story and come out with … what they came up with because when everyone looks up at the sky, they look at the same sun and the same moon. We all share that, and I just want a much smaller platform for people to share, one audience at a time, and just being one with each other during that moment and that experience.”
Jeghetto’s “5P1N0K10” is on stage at the Center for Puppetry Arts June 23-26. His special exhibition is on view through Sept. 25. More information is available at puppet.org/programs/5p1n0k10-spinokkio.
